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Zhou Tai
Zhou Tai (onyomi: Shū Tai) is a volunteer who joined Wu with his comrade, Jiang Qin. He fights alongside Sun Ce and also serves Sun Quan. He saved Sun Quan many times on the battlefield, eventually becoming his right-hand protector. During the Battle of Ruxukou, Sun Quan saw the reluctance of both Zhu Ran and Xu Sheng in serving as Zhou's officers. In response, Sun Quan held a banquet for his officers, and pointed to each of Zhou Tai's scars (most of them received during the defense of Xuan), to which Zhou Tai would retell the different battles he participated in, thus winning respect from both officers and many other members of Wu. Most fictional sources state that Zhou Tai was also a former pirate. Before his playable Dynasty Warriors appearance, he was formerly a NPC character since Dynasty Warriors 2 Dynasty Warriors 7 character popularity poll places him as twenty-ninth out of sixty-two characters; he is forty-sixth place in the Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends popularity poll. The latest poll for the eighth installment puts him in fifty-third. He is the second most transcended character in the Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed character poll. The character poll for overseas fans puts him in first place for the Wu division, fifth in the semi-finals, and second in the final round. Zhou Tai acts as one of Sun Quan's most trusted vassals and a reliable warrior in many of Wu's later campaigns. He often sticks near his lord's side. He lives to see the later conflicts in the series and sometimes one of the last warriors to guard Sun Quan from danger. His Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends describes him as a pirate who decided to join Sun Ce when latter began his conquests in the Wu Territory. Not long after he joined the Sun family, Sun Quan is surrounded on six sides by the hostile residents. Zhou Tai valiantly rides alone to protect the stranded lord and guides their escape. Once the young man safely reunites with the main forces, Sun Quan praises the former pirate. Zhou Tai modestly accepts the lord's offer to serve him. In Dynasty Warriors 5, his origins from his Legend Mode remain relatively the same. In this title, Sun Quan is trapped within the area's eastern fort and is ambushed by Yan Baihu and his men. Zhou Tai rescues him once more and gains the former's respect. He follows his new lord into battle and takes part in Chi Bi. With their northern boarders safe from threats, he participates in suppressing the south and Shu. Wu ultimately defeats Wei and confronts Shu a final time at Bai Di Castle. Zhou Tai's role in their last battle is to secure the path for reinforcements in the east while the army surrounds the castle. When Sun Quan struggles due to Huang Zhong and Ma Chao's sudden arrival, Zhou Tai cuts open a path for his lord's final charge. In his ending, Wu unites the land and the lord and vassal engage in a friendly drinking contest together. His Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion has him and four other Wu generals partake in the Battle of Ru Xu Kou. Zhou Tai starts in the south-western part of the map and is ordered by Lu Meng to take the western base. Accompanied by Ling Tong, he continues to support Gan Ning's ambush. After the battle, he is satisfied to avenge his kingdom's loss at He Fei and swears to keep up the fight. Zhou Tai's ending scene in Dynasty Warriors: Online sees him viewing peach trees alongside the player. Having accepted the peaceful state of the land, he performs one last stroke with his sword and sheathes it. While meditating, he is joined by the player who places a peach tree branch in front of them as a sign of their bond. Dynasty Warriors 6 gives him no personal story but he continues to appear by Sun Quan's side at Yi Ling and Wu's later campaigns. He may also appear as reinforcements during Wei's struggle at Fan Castle. In Special, Zhou Tai also joins Sima Yi's rebellion during Cao Pi's story mode as Lu Xun leads him and the other remnants of Wu to end Wei. First appearing during the battle to take Wu in Dynasty Warriors 7, Zhou Tai's appearance in Wu's Story Mode is minor as there aren't many events that focus on him. He protects a fort at Nanjun and fights at Yiling, Fan Castle and Dongkou. His first Legendary Battle takes place during Chibi. The fire attack succeeds, but Cao Cao's numbers keep coming to invade the land. Zhou Tai fights to protect his lord against the odds. He performs a similar task for his second Legendary Battle, this time guarding Sun Quan against Liu Bei's army at Yiling. The Xtreme Legends expansion adds a Hero Scenario specifically dedicated to an incident that happened whilst he is in Sun Ce's service. His lord entrusts Zhou Tai to protect a young, inexperienced Sun Quan at Xuan Castle while Sun Ce himself went out to fight the Shanyue tribe. During Sun Ce's absence, it is attacked by several Shanyue bandits. Zhou Tai moves forth to protect the castle's supply line and prevent the Shanyue's fire attack. When Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun arrive to make up for the bandits' faults, Zhou Tai strikes them down to protect Sun Quan and then protects Sun Ce from being overwhelmed by bandits. Upon seeing Zhou Tai's wounds upon their victory, Sun Quan feels guilty for being so inept. His older brother scolds him to consider Zhou Tai's loyalty to him. Though observers were expecting sincere words of gratitude, Sun Quan instead offers to throw Zhou Tai a banquet with wine as his show of thanks. The third chapter of Dynasty Warriors Next has Zhou Tai appear as a playable officer under Sun Ce. He reinforces the coalition against Yuan Shu at Huainan once Sun Shangxiang secures the enemy's outpost. Before the start of the sixth chapter, he and Huang Gai spar with one another as Sun Quan confesses his own insecurities as leader to them. Huang Gai bolsters his lord's confidence with heartfelt praise whereas Zhou Tai voices his own words of devotion towards him. In Wei's final chapter, he and Ding Feng are tasked with protecting Sun Quan's main camp from the Wei forces at Hefei. Both men are overwhelmed by Zhang Liao's might. Jin's version of Jianye has him ambush Sima Yi in one of the remaining bases owned by Wu. He also challenges Lu Bu to a duel before the latter can invade Sun Jian's domain. In Dynasty Warriors 8, Zhou Tai reprises his role from the previous installment. Zhou Tai has a minimal role in Wu's hypothetical route but faithfully accompanies his lord on successful campaigns against Wei before celebrating Sun Quan's alliance between the three kingdoms in the finale. In Wei's hypothetical route, Zhou Tai helps Sun Quan escape from Chibi after the fire attack fails and the Wu forces are defeated. He becomes the last remaining officer standing between the Wei forces and his lord at Jianye. His role is further explored during the Xtreme Legends expansion. In Lu Bu's story mode, Zhou Tai will be found serving Yuan Shu alongside other members of Wu. In the historical route, his only appearance will be at Shouchun. During the hypothetical route, he appears as one of Yuan Shu's guards at Wujun. In Wu's storyline, he helps assist in attacking Cao Cao at Runan as an officer of Yuan Shu, and often accompanies Sun Quan during his actions in other stages and in the stories of other kingdoms. Character Information Personality Zhou Tai is the classic calm and seemingly mute warrior who is merciless to his foes. He only talks when necessary and roughly mumbles one liners (his lines are surrounded with ellipses in the Japanese script). His hard-to-approach and taciturn demeanor belie a sincerely kind and loyal man of Wu. He cares greatly for Sun Quan's safety and won't hesitate to sacrifice himself for his lord's well being. Caring little for personal gain and possessing an indomitable presence, his lord admires his bravery in return. Both share a fondness for wine, which further deepens their comradely bonds. When Lu Xun becomes Wu's new strategist, he expresses concern that the man may be too young and inexperienced for the new occupation. Once the youth displays his capabilities, any lingering doubts he may have had for Lu Xun are silenced. Character Symbolism In the Japanese version of Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires, Zhou Tai is given the nickname of "The Silent Fencer" while the English version changes it to "The Loyal Flashing Blade". As a dominant ruler in Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires, he calls his five greatest warriors the "Five Blades". All of Zhou Tai's weapons in Dynasty Warriors are named after split moments of time, likely in ode to his characteristic unsheathing attacks in the series. For the most part, the English translations are accurate to their Asian counterparts. The characters used with its image are very precise in their nature. In the case of "Dawn" and "Dusk", these names are meant to describe the exact moment the sun dips the horizon. His Standard Weapon, which is just called "Flash" in Asian ports, uses a character for something that happens in the blink of an eye. Zhou Tai's Level 11 weapon is a brief moment of time described within Buddhist texts, which has its origins from India and China. Setsuna is said to be an immeasurable instant in Buddhism, tied to the spontaneous birth of virtue from an evil thought in the mind. According to Abhidharma mahavibhasa sastra, however, twenty-four hours is equivalent to 6,480,000 setsuna. The original name of his personal item in Warriors Orochi is "Blue Parasol" or "Green Parasol", which alludes to the historical incident of Sun Quan praising his vassal's exploits at a banquet. Zhou Tai (pronunciation (help·info)) (died c. 223), courtesy name Youping, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Sun Ce, Sun Quan's elder brother and predecessor.2 Contents * 1Service under Sun Ce ** 1.1Saving Sun Quan ** 1.2Campaign against Liu Xun * 2Service under Sun Quan ** 2.1Battle of Ruxu ** 2.2Jing Province campaign ** 2.3Death * 3Descendants * 4In popular culture * 5See also * 6Notes * 7References Service under Sun Ceedit Zhou Tai was from Xiacai County (下蔡縣), Jiujiang Commandery (九江郡), which is present-day Fengtai County, Anhui. Around the early 190s, he and Jiang Qin came to serve Sun Ce, who was on a series of conquests in the Jiangdong region. Zhou Tai was faithful and polite. He also made contributions by fighting in various battles under Sun Ce's banner. When Sun Ce occupied Kuaiji Commandery (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang) after the commandery's Administrator, Wang Lang, surrendered to him, he appointed Zhou Tai as a Major of Separate Command (別部司馬) and put him in command of some troops.3 Saving Sun Quanedit Sun Ce's younger brother, Sun Quan, favoured Zhou Tai so he requested for Zhou to be transferred to his unit. Once, when Sun Ce was away on a campaign against some bandits who had emerged in the six counties of Kuaiji, Sun Quan was left in Xuancheng County (宣城縣; present-day Xuancheng, Anhui) with less than 1,000 men. Out of negligence, Sun Quan did not set up defence posts, so when thousands of bandits suddenly attacked Xuancheng, he attempted to flee. However, by then, Sun Quan had already been surrounded by the bandits, who attacked him and slashed at his saddle, causing much panic among his men. Only Zhou Tai, with his spirits roused, rushed to protect Sun Quan, emboldening those near him and making them able to fight again. When the bandits finally dispersed, Zhou Tai had sustained 12 deep wounds all over his body and he took a long time to recover. If Zhou Tai was not there on that day, Sun Quan would have surely perished. Zhou Tai's act of bravery was greatly appreciated by Sun Ce, who appointed him as the Chief (長) of Chungu County (春穀縣; northwest of present-day Fanchang County, Anhui).4 Campaign against Liu Xunedit In 199, Zhou Tai followed Sun Ce to attack Liu Xun at Wan County (皖縣; present-day Qianshan County, Anhui) and Huang Zu at Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; commandery capital in present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei). When he returned from the campaigns, he passed by Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡) and was appointed as the Chief (長) of Yichun County (宜春縣; present-day Yichun, Jiangxi). The residents in the counties under his governorship provided him with the necessary funding and supplies for his troops.5 Service under Sun Quanedit Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 CE while he was out on a hunting expedition and was succeeded by Sun Quan. In 208, Zhou Tai participated in the Battle of Jiangxia against Huang Zu. Later that year, Zhou Tai fought at the Battle of Red Cliffs under the command of Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, and the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei scored a major victory over Cao Cao's forces. Zhou Tai was also involved in the Battle of Jiangling, a follow-up to Red Cliffs, and Sun Quan's forces defeated Cao Cao's general Cao Ren and captured Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei). After the battles, Zhou Tai was ordered to garrison at Cen County (岑縣).6 Battle of Ruxuedit In 217, Cao Cao launched another attack on Sun Quan, leading to the Battle of Ruxu. Zhou Tai participated in the defence of Ruxu, and Sun Quan's forces succeeded in driving back the invaders. After Cao Cao's retreat, Zhou Tai was appointed General Who Pacifies Barbarians (平虜將軍) and was ordered to remain behind to guard Ruxu. At the time, Zhu Ran and Xu Sheng were also stationed at Ruxu and were Zhou Tai's subordinates, but they were reluctant to submit to Zhou's command. Sun Quan made a special trip to Ruxu and he threw a party for all the military officers there. Sun Quan personally served wine to Zhou Tai and asked him to undress. He pointed at every scar on Zhou Tai's body and asked Zhou about it, whereupon Zhou would relate stories of the battles he fought in. At the end, Sun Quan told Zhou Tai to put on his clothes and they revelled through the night. The following day, Sun Quan instructed a herald to grant Zhou Tai his imperial parasol.7 The Jiang Biao Zhuan (江表傳) further described this incident as follows: Zhu Ran, Xu Sheng and the other officers were impressed with Zhou Tai and they submitted to his command.9 Jing Province campaignedit In 219, Sun Quan sent his general Lü Meng to invade and seize Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province, which were defended by Guan Yu. After the success of the invasion, Sun Quan planned to attack Liu Bei in Shu (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) so he appointed Zhou Tai as the Administrator (太守) ofHanzhong Commandery even though Hanzhong was still under Liu Bei's control then. He also appointed Zhou Tai as General of Vehement Might (奮威將軍) and awarded him the title "Marquis of Lingyang" (陵陽侯).10 Deathedit Zhou Tai died sometime during the Huangwu era (222–229) in Sun Quan's reign.11 His year of death was not specified, but the Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny estimated it to be around 223.2 Descendantsedit Zhou Tai's son, Zhou Shao (周邵), was appointed as a Cavalry Commandant (騎都尉) and commanded some troops. He fought in the Battle of Ruxu of 222–223 against the Wei general Cao Ren and made contributions in battle. Later in 228, he participated in the Battle of Shiting under Lu Xun's command, which saw a victory for Wu forces over the Wei army led by Cao Xiu. Zhou Shao was promoted to Major-General (裨將軍) for his achievement. He died in 230 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Zhou Cheng (周承), who inherited his military appointment and their father's marquis title. Category:Characters